


Differences

by CoopPenny



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard, Biology, Extremis Tony Stark, Frigga (Marvel) Knows All, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Iron Man 3, Pre-Everything Else, Protective Rhodey and Pepper, Protective Thor, Thor Is Not Stupid, Tony Has Issues, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2018-11-08 11:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11080941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoopPenny/pseuds/CoopPenny
Summary: Many things differ from Aesir biology to human, they may look similar but they are very different.Some of the main differences are in strength, magic and life span.Thor likes discovering each one on his own.





	1. Aura

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short story with short chapters. Hope you like it!

In all honesty, no one really knew what a mortal would look like. Many Aesir knew that mortals were like them, looked and walked like them but they really didn’t know the extent that their similarities were. Many of the gods in Asgard were ignorant to the existence of the mortals, thinking them to be mere stories of a fake land far away or just not worth the notice of a god. Thor was counted as one of these many gods that believed mortals to be below them. After all, they were relatively similar to the damsels in destress in bedtime stories; if they were a real then they must have been at least extinct by now.

However, that belief was smacked out of him after he made a rash and grave mistake, angering his father and getting one of his closest friends hurt in the process. Looking back, Thor could hardly believe how arrogant and brutish he’d been to attempt to start a war that would cause more death than necessary.

With the wrath of his father upon him, Thor was banished to a land he didn’t yet know the name of or had visited. When he landed, he was disorientated, hurt and angry. He couldn’t believe that his father would do such a thing to him, especially for ridding the Nine Realms of a few more monsters to be worried about. Caught up in his own rage, screaming to the sky for his father to take him home once again, he didn’t realise that he had company around him, talking and discussing his arrival.

When realising the new people, ones that had an Aesir form but wore strange clothes but what was most startling of all was their lack of aura. So naturally, he acted somewhat violently towards them only to get electrocuted and pass out seconds later.

Waking up to a crowd of people with no aura hanging around him, made him panic all the more. He fought hard and valiantly against those that tried to contain him but alas, there was only one of him and many of them, it was near inevitable that they would contain him once again…

Throughout the whole Nine Realms, almost every creature and being had an aura that shows different things about a person: their past, their deeds, their pain and long forgotten scars and the general type of person they were. Thor had been told that his aura was bright with shining silver colours to show his Princely status and bold strips of orange and blues to show his merriment and bravery in battle. His father was much the same, except that he had dark lines breeching the edges, showing his scars and the many horrors he’d seen and had been inflicted by the wars he’d fought, a sign of his own wisdom and experience as a respected soldier. It even showed the love he and his mother had for each other, a soft pink tinging the edges of their aura whenever they were near one another, it was a kind of love that Thor hoped to share with someone one day.

Many creatures were also able to hide their auras but there would also be a flash of their aura before it would hide in their depths of their beings a barely made out glow on the outline of their form. For the Aesir, it was highly unusual for anyone to hide their aura to an extensive degree which was also on of the many reasons why Loki was picked on as he took to hiding his aura at all times.

However, creatures that didn’t have any aura that surrounded them, not even an outline glow, were considered lifeless and prone to acts of cruelty and deviousness, easily killing and slaughtering anything in their path, sometimes they could slaughter entire villages. They were considered highly dangerous beings that held no emotions or understanding. So, in Thor’s eyes at the time, everyone around him that he’d met were aura-less and extremely dangerous.

Upon his third time awakening, he’d kept his hostility to himself and observed the creatures that he’d come across only to discover that they acted according to a living person. Not long after, Thor had come to the conclusion that he was among mortals- especially with their lack of understanding to the Nine Realms. That was also when he found that mortals had no concept of auras whatsoever as when he asked Jane about them, she’d stared at him in confusion, having no understanding as to what he meant. It was only when he’d tried to get his hammer back did he realise that he was mortal as well. Completely mortal and unable to return to his home which he so desperately wanted to.

He was just about to accept his new life as a mortal being when his friends came to him. Chaos and madness came from everywhere, as well as explosions and destruction at the hand of his brother controlling the destroyer. Then, when all hope was lost, Thor finally got his powers and hammer returned to him. Thor found it strange to say that he’d missed the feel and hum of electricity in his hammer most of all, something that he’d dismissed many a time before.

The sudden burst of colour was the most welcoming of all. Relief flowed through him when he saw the familiarity of his friends whereas before, he’d been second guessing (he almost didn’t recognise them without their colours). The mortals were suddenly alight with brightness, the Lady Jane lighting up as light purple to signify her thirst for knowledge and intellect. Everything was right once again but he wasn’t able to rejoice for long due to the pressing matters of his brother.

Upon his return to Asgard, he’d gained two main things: one was a dark line through his aura, evidence of his pain over the loss of his brother; second was more knowledge about Midgard and their mortal inhabitants than anyone in Asgard. He’d spent days telling and retelling of his experiences there, how they got by without the need of magic, how they had strange foods and drinks like coffee and how they were unable to see any sense of aura on another person. His friends had stopped asking about the mortals after that, as no one would wish it upon their worst enemy to be unable to see ones aura, it just wasn’t spoken about.

Settling down once again in his home, a new weight upon his chest from his tragic loss and a new outlook on life, he’d been approached by his father and apologised to for putting him in a situation where his aura was lost. The apology was accepted but Thor and Odin were never again as close as they once were…

* * *

 

When Thor came to Midgard a second time, it was not a joyous occasion. They’d received words that his brother had continued to live and was causing havoc to an innocent world that could barely defend itself. He went to the world of mortals with fury in his eyes and only getting his brother back home in mind.

Getting his brother had been easy, what he wasn’t expecting, however, was to be tackled mid-speech by a flying device in which he could only make out a flash of aura before it was gone. Thor didn’t really have that much time to think about how a mortal was able to cover an aura they were unaware about before he was distracted by the throws of battle. However, the fight was short lived as it was interrupted by a large mortal with small dark cracks in his aura and deep blue radiating off of him; an old soldier.

Soon their fight was finished, they went to their base of operation. With his brother secure, Thor started to converse with the mortals involved, tossing words such as ‘murderer’ and ‘crazy’ about his brother, which Thor couldn’t but wanted to deny. As they were all debating, he took a quick look about each of their auras, seeing their personalities and pasts, seeing which ones he could trust and which ones he couldn’t.

The Lady Natasha seemed to be the most illusive, always on guard and most of her aura was transparent in parts like she was attempting to conceal it but there was also large blotches of red staining throughout her aura, some of it merging with the blue of her soldier status, like blood tainting her very being. It showed her past of death and murder and it showed how the many people she’s killed effects her loyalty and trust in others. Thor didn’t believe that he would be trusting her anytime soon.

Thor couldn’t get much from Fury as he only got a flash before it was completely hidden from sight. But of what he could see, Fury was very much the same as Lady Natasha, his aura illusive and red running throughout it all but there was also a hint of hot pink, a caring attitude surrounding everything else while black cracks ran through. That showed a path of an experienced soldier and a man who’s had to kill people he’d once cared about due to their betrayal. Thor couldn’t get any more than that, the rest of his aura being even more transparent than Lady Natasha.

The small man across the room, was awkward and twitchy, obviously wanting to leave but knowing that he had to stay. His aura was not that of a trained warrior or soldier as there was no blue that ran through it but they seemed to be split into two, interestingly enough. One side of his aura were patches of browns, light blues and oranges with dashes of black cracks, almost scratches, displaying his poor fortune, his calm personality, his intellect and past pain. On the other side, there was a tint of greenness about it all with dark cracks of red running through to display a deep and uncontrollable rage from within. Thor had been told of the man’s alter-ego but he never expected them to be two separate beings sharing the same entity. Thor had never seen the likes of it before.

At the table, sat the Captain, his hood down and a serious expression to his face as he sat bolt upright, acting as a regular soldier in the ranks. However, Thor had not seen the mortal that had controlled the suit. He had not sensed the being since he walked off in the other direction to them, ignoring the calls and inquiries of where he was going.

“It’s a stabilising agent.” The man says as he walks into the room, answering the doctor’s question that Thor didn’t really understand (the All-Speak really was no help in the face of mortal science).

What the Man of Iron says next is lost to Thor as he drinks in the surprising sight before him. The man was small, shorter than anyone else in the room actually but he was broad shouldered and had a reasonably good build to Thor’s keen eye however he may look to be lacking to one that doesn’t have a heightened vision. His hair was a soft brown that reminded Thor of the trees’ bark in Asgard, a deep brown that looked strong but it also looked strangely soft at the same time. The man’s eyes were big and round, with a deep brown the same as his hair, but they were bright and guarded in a curious manner. Soft tanned skin surrounded the beautifully crafted eyes and a sharp goatee lined his jaw and upper lip in an exotic way.

The mortal was truly as beautiful as Balder, the most beautiful god in Asgard. So beautiful in fact that Thor was lost in the man’s beautiful appearance that he missed the flash of aura before it returned to its concealed state.

By the time he became aware enough to try and seek out the man’s flash of aura, it was gone and the conversation had gone on with Thor keeping quiet for the rest of the time until the mortal man left. When he snapped out of his half-transe, Thor looked to the people about the room to see if anyone noticed. He barely restrained a blush when he caught the Lady Natasha’s eye and she raised an eye-brow.

 

* * *

  

The battle was hard won and Thor and his powerful companions were utterly exhausted after the day they’d all had. An entire alien invasion to a planet was enough to tire out any god given the chance.

Honestly, Thor thought that they would loose, after all, Aesir have lost wars with more warriors on their side. But they had done it. They had won and they had the Man of Iron to thank for it. They also had him to thank for the accommodations, each of them rewarded a bed and sleep for the night in the Man of Iron’s home, Loki in a secure location in the building and the tesseract kept in a secure container with Thor.

Looking back on that moment of battle, Thor couldn’t help a slight chill down his spine as he recalled the Man of Iron fly into the portal. The dreaded anticipation was one of the worst things Thor had ever experienced and it felt like his heart was slowly freezing over, his chest contracting in the freeze over, a feeling that he lost something that he never got the chance to truly discover. When the Man of Iron followed through and came back to them, he was falling and gaining more and more speed as he did so. Thor was about to fly out to catch him when the raging beast caught him mid-fall.

Making their way over, Thor felt cold dread try to claim his heart once again when he found he couldn’t sense the Man of Iron’s aura, the outlined glow fading with every second, and the light within his chest was off. Both he and the Captain looked to have given up all hope when the green beast roared in denial, making the mortal on the floor gasp with life once again. But as his eyes flew open, his eyes were vulnerable, exposed with his fear and terror of what he’d only witnessed seconds ago; it was over in a second before his eyes became guarded again, lips twitching into an exhausted smile as he rambled on about ‘shawarma’.

However, as the mortal closed off his outer expression, Thor was transfixed by the show of aura that the mortal must have been too shaken to try and unconsciously hide again. On the outside, his aura was lined with a green that spoke of mischievous behaviours and a relaxed attitude (much like the aura of his brother’s) but the colour seemed strangely hollow, too solid to be anything to self manufactured and placed carefully to hide behind it. To Thor, it seemed like a wall, a front of lies that none could penetrate. Some of the green wall had deep cracks, like something that had once broken through. Looking further into the man’s aura, Thor was completely taken aback by the colours that surrounded the petit man. All around him were colours of love and friendship as well as a deep intellect that seemed to go on for miles on end. Happiness and amusement seemed to light up from within but with it, Thor was surprised to see a deep royal purple that showed the man’s great wisdom and knowledge of the world, despite him being only middle-aged by Midgardian standards. Surrounding it all was a beautiful gold that shone like a star in the night, glowing brightly from within to show the man’s purity and good intentions throughout his life. It was startlingly beautiful and Thor had never seen anyone’s aura shine as brightly as this mortal’s did.

However, what made Thor’s heart break at the sight of the beautiful aura were the dark set cracks that criss-crossed and scarred his being. Betrayal and pain radiating from each one, a pain caused by a loved one and a pain caused by physical harm. At the sight, Thor’s lips pursed and he could barely smile when the Man of Iron turned to him telling him about needing a few days off from the intense fighting they’d been put through. Although, the scars to his aura seemed to be healing, they were large and many.

What was truly heartbreaking was that Thor could see another scar growing deeper and thicker with every word he spoke, a scar in the aura that would never truly heal from the battle, caused by what he’d seen on the other side, something no one else would ever understand…

Later in the day when the rest of the team were settled and either sleeping or eating, Thor saw a glimpse of the Man of Iron without his metal armour and was saddened to see the finishings of the scar on his aura, a thick crack that was gapping over the pure gold of his aura. Even in appearance the mortal looked troubled, his hand rubbing over the glowing device in his chest and his slumped shoulders were a contrasting difference to the proud set to the man’s shoulders upon their first meeting.

As the small man slipped back into his lab, Thor felt his resolve steel, he would place this man and the team under his protection and he would see to it that the Man of Iron gains no more scars on his beautiful soul. It was clear that the mortal had suffered through more than his fair share of cruelty of others…

  


	2. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this took a while but I knew I needed to get it done.  
> Hope you enjoy it!

Magic in Asgard wasn’t really considered a true source of weaponry.

It was seen by most as tedious and not the warrior way, where one could tell a brilliant story of how they moved their sword or how they got the battle scar and still became victor. Magic was an extra helping to most, something to distract the enemy to gain the upper hand or to enable their weapons to be as strong or unique as they needed (magic was a very good skill for the forgers of Asgard).

However, none had relied on magic alone or as efficiently as Loki had, which was one of the many reasons he was looked down upon. Some chose to study the art of magic as well, usually curious minds or forgers but Thor had never had any interest in magic wielding, preferring the thrill of battle and finding that it was a lot more fun to swing a sword than to go inside and study boring books all day.

Regardless of his less than enthusiastic attitude towards magic, Thor could not escape it for long in his childhood for he was part of the royal family and in such duties, he had to learn at least the minimal amount if magic and spells if he were to be a great roll-model and leader in his inevitable position as a King in the future.

So, although he didn’t know as much as Loki, or the forgers, in the ways of magic he knew enough to explain a little to his Midgardian comrades about the flow of magic and that there were different spells and actions to do for it. Thor was happy to see that his mortal audience was impressed by his explanation at the dinner table when asked by the Eye of Hawk, who insisted on being called Clint.

“Friend Clinton, is this answer satisfactory for your curiosity?” Thor asked, eager to return to his Midgardian stake that friend Bruce had cooked for them.

All the others nodded in satisfaction, a general chatter coming about the table as they presumed eating. As Thor settled down, he couldn’t help but chance a glance in Anthony’s direction only to feel a strange sensation in his chest when he saw that Anthony had merely been writing upon his paper, his messy scrawl and drawings making it look as if he’d never even realised Thor was speaking, trapped within the world of his own racing mind.

Ignoring the pang in his chest, Thor knew that it was hardly Tony’s fault for he had told Thor before about the difficulties of his mind, about how, as much as he loved his mind, it was a horror he’d rather live without some days. Tony had explained to him some time after coming back to Midgard, the issue with his brother having been dealt with, he’d asked Tony why he twitched and fidgeted when he was obviously engaged in a conversation. His answer was that Tony’s mind was too fast, always thinking, always calculating, coming up with new designs and new inventions, keeping him awake at night until he was near collapsing with exhaustion. But it was a gift the same way it was a pain to the Man of Iron, as he explained that it was a gate way to a private world, a place someone would never hope to understand or disturb. At the end of their conversation, Tony had let slip that he’d wanted a partner who could give him a few hours of silence, a tranquil paradise of an impossible thing.

At the thought, Thor felt his cheeks heating for some reason unknown and he quickly had to look away from Antony in, what he now realises, was a stare too long for he’d caught Natasha’s rise of an eye-brow and quirk of her lips, making his face heat up even more so (thank Odin he had his beard).

Ignoring the observant woman, who always seemed to catch Thor’s wondering eyes, Thor carried on with eating the rest of his meal which was piled generously high in comparison to that of Clinton or Lady Natasha. Conversation carried on at a length, carrying on even after they’d finished eating, no one really willing to take the first leave. When they did finally get up and start to pack away dishes and glasses, Thor was banned and pushed out of he kitchen at that point, not allowed to help after he destroyed a ten stack of plates when he’d laughed too hard few days ago.

Walking to the sofa and the ‘television’, as Tony had called it, Thor sighed lightly as he sunk down into the plush cushions of the chair, it almost resembled the chairs they had in Asgard, although the chairs of Midgard had considerably less gold and jewels.

“Enjoying yourself there, Point-Break?” came a calm voice from behind, making Thor stiffen up slightly in surprise before he forced himself to relax once more.

Turning in his chair, Thor came to face Anthony, who was still writing however, now his fingers were rapidly tapping along a scene (Steven having band such devices from the dinner table) but his eyes flickering up to meet Thor every couple of seconds before returning to the scene. “Aye, I am having a joyous time, my friend. Can I be of service?”

There was a second where Tony stared into Thor’s eyes, eyes analysing and thoughtful before he opened his mouth, “I need you to come down to the lab at some point tomorrow. You were talking about your magic and stuff and I wanted to scan you for any magical signature and if we’ve got anything by comparison.”

A little stupefied with the speed of the other’s words, Thor nodded and agreed. The response was a small half-smile and a wave good-bye before Tony was on his way again, predictably to go down to his lab.

Thor must have been staring at the spot that Anthony had disappeared to for a while as he soon found himself sitting next to Lady Natasha in the previously empty room, a small clattering still being able to be heard from the kitchen. She was looking at him in a strange way and Thor felt a little like he was staring down at a predator, looking to only play with it’s meal before a grand feast.

“Is there anything that troubles you Lady Natasha?” he asked in a curious tone as he could make.

The red-head just shook her head as she said a small “Nope” before a small grin settled in place on her lips, eyes taking a devious glint, “I saw you looking at Stark. You got a thing for billionaire brats then?”

At the slander of Tony’s name, Thor felt his hackles rise, anger filling him on behalf of Tony, “I do not see friend Anthony as a simple ‘brat’ and for you to call him such is a great dishonour upon him and I advise that you reframe from such language towards friend Anthony in front of myself or the others or you shall find more trouble than it was worth.”

At his words, a small rumble of thunder being heard from overhead, Thor felt like he’d done well in protecting the genius. However, instead of the shaking nod and fearful eyes, Thor only got a small smirk from the female mortal which made Thor frown in confusion.

Before Thor could ask, Natasha got up in a swift and elegant fashion, the satisfied smirk still playing at her lips, she said in a curt and honest voice, “Thank you for your cooperation.” before she walked out of the room in a fast pace, seeming eager to do something.

Thor only settled down into his chair before he called out to the ghostly servant, that served Anthony, with a confused, “Friend JARVIS, do you understand of what has just occurred between myself and Lady Natasha?”

“I believe Agent Romanov was digging for information, Mr.Odinson.” came the polite reply but the answer only left Thor with more questions than before.

What had he just revealed to the Lady Natasha?

* * *

 

Upon the morning, Thor found that he was eager to join Tony in his ‘lab’, a birth place of the man’s incredible creations and although, Thor and the other Avengers had been staying there for a few weeks now, no one had really seen the man’s work space, not even the gentle Doctor Banner who had only even been to Tony’s shared lab which he reserves especially for Bruce.

Many of the teammates were curious about the billionaire’s lab but they’d been turned away with every polite and forceful attempt, even the skilful Natasha hadn’t been able to penetrate the lab doors which had looked weaker than they actually were. Thor suspected that nothing more than Thor or the Hulk’s strength could penetrate the doors but Hulk was too risky to ask and Thor had glared at the Archer for even suggesting he do such a thing.

It wasn’t until today that Tony had ever asked any of them down to his lab and Thor felt highly honoured that he would be the first to truly see the mortal’s place of occupation.

After a hasty breakfast and a general chat which ended with Thor giving an annoyed glare around the table when Natasha, Clint and Steve suggested that he wear some kind of camera to satisfy their curiosity. Walking into the elevator, Thor requested the genius’ floor and in no time, Thor was face to face with the black-out windows as he patiently waited for Tony to allow him entry.

He only had to wait for a few seconds before the invisible servant, that Tony had claimed to have created, greeted him, “Welcome Mr.Odinson.” And closed the thick glass doors behind him when he stepped in.

In Thor’s opinion (many of his people at home would agree with him) Midgard couldn’t possibly hold any magic; they were simply not evolved enough for something so advanced and difficult. There lives were too short and their minds more narrow minded than that of an Aesir at times and so Thor would have thought that it would be impossible for the mortal race to even start to develop such a thing.

However, as Thor took one look around Tony’s lab, he couldn’t help but gasp in wonderment as all of his views in that area were scrapped away because Tony’s lab was truly one of magical manipulation. It was bright and futuristic, much like the rest of the building, but Thor could see that it was a personal room, a private area of sanctuary that was for Tony, and Tony alone. It was a chaotic mess that had a sense of order about it, metal parts and tools left on the table in temporary abandonment with blue hovering drawings that moved and contracted, showing ideas or designs that had yet to be made a reality. All of it looked and felt like it was the real essence of Antony and Thor had never seen anything like it.

He’d been so captivated by the magic around him (he could almost feel it), he failed to see the genius standing to the side with a soft smile on his face and arms folded. Who knew a god could look like a little kid?

“Ahem!” came a loud (fake) cough from behind Thor, making him startle and whip around in time to see Antony fold his arms just under his circle of light and raise an eye-brow at him, an awaited explanation clear on his face.

But Thor could hardly say anything, his words failing him, for when he turned around, he saw that Tony had his aura out, a show of pure gold stretched out, showing off every detail and every scar within his soul. Distractedly, Thor wondered if emotions of comfortability could influence the aura into showing itself or hiding which would definitely explain a lot.

It was only when Tony’s brows furrowed and he unfolded his arms to step closer, radiating worry and confusion, did Thor realise that he’d been staring at Tony’s aura for quite some time.

With a cough, ignoring the increasing heat that Thor could compare to the Destroyer trying to melt off his face, Thor bowed his head in respect and in apology, “Forgive me for my distraction, Friend Anthony, but I could not help myself but be intrigued by the space around me. It is a very beautiful magic that you have cast upon this place.”

With that Anthony seemed amused at Thor’s antics before he covered it up feigning anger as he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, “It’s called science not magic.” before he continued in a more grumbly and subdued tone of, “I hate magic…”

Trying to hold in his chuckle of amusement - as Thor was sure that it would be a hit to Tony’s pride - Thor asked, “Yes, of course. My apologise.” There was a small silence between them before Thor spoke in a rush of words, “What test would you like me to take part in first, my friend?”

“Well…” Tony drawled, not even batting an eyelid at Thor’s speed, “I was thinking that we start with some blood samples and then maybe let me scan Mjölnir and take a few pictures and stuff.” Tony rambled off about a thousand other things that Thor didn’t see any problem in doing, agreeing with a smile quirking at his lips as he watched how Tony became more and more animated as time wore on, the man’s excitement growing with every passing second as he thought of what he might accomplish with his research.

* * *

 

As the tests were drawing to an end, Tony had left Thor for a couple of minutes as he went into another section of his work-space to do write something down when he felt something nudge against his knee. Looking down, Thor saw that one of Tony’s creations had wheeled up to him, using its one arm to pull at the slack of his shirt.

Smiling, Thor crouched down as he touched the claw, shaking its hand. Thor let out a laugh of wonderment when he saw a burst of colour from within it, a small aura of personality, a small burst of loyal blue in the shape of a flower blooming from within, giving away its childish personality. Then it was gone.

“Truly remarkable.” Thor awed as he gave a chuckle of bewilderment. Then he looked up, asking, “Friend JARVIS!”

“Yes, Mr.Odinson?” came the diligent reply.

“Do you know what this creature comes by?” he asked, as he watched in fascination that the creature did fast circles around him, occasionally running over his feet (which didn’t hurt him).

“That would be DUM-E, one of Sir’s first creations of Artificial Intelligence coding.”

Watching the robot circle around him a little more Thor mumbled to himself, “It is truly magic that Anthony was able to create life such as this. It is truly wonderful.”

“Indeed,” came the reply from the ceiling but there was something in the ghostly servant’s tone that made him look up and he stared in fascination as a ripple of loyal blue and a wave protective red, erupted over the ceiling, showing a hidden personality and life that was in the very walls of the Tower. Thor was surprised that he hadn’t seen it before. “I feel the need to warn you, Mr.Odinson, that Sir is held in a very high regard to myself as well as DUM-E, U and Butterfingers. Should any harm come his way, from your intensions or your actions, I might remind you that I have potential control over all of the electronic devices in and outside of this building.”

Frowning, Thor tried to hide a bit of nervousness that bubbled up in his chest at JARVIS’ obvious threat and came to a realisation that maybe the small robot that was rolling over his booted feet repeatedly was attempting to harm him on purpose.

He was just about to open his mouth to reply that he would never do such a thing when Tony came back over, a wide smile upon his face and clearly oblivious to what had just occurred between his creations and the god, “Thanks for the data Point-Break! I gotta lock down the lab though so you need to go.” he continued slightly apologetic, “I promised Pep that I’d come to tonight’s event so,” he gestured to the door with his thumb, “Both of us have to leave.”

Thor nodded curtly, “Of course.”

It was only then did Tony notice his creation by Thor as he said to the AI, “Come on DUM-E, back to your charging station.” the robot then made a series of beeps and picked up a small wrench from the low-set table beside it, “No. We can’t play fetch, I have to leave now.” the robot then looked cast-fallen, his metal arm sagging in disappointment. Tony made a soft noise in the back of his throat before he patted the robot and said in a promising voice, “If you do as your told, I’ll play fetch with you next time I’m down here.”

That seemed to do it as DUM-E gave a happy ‘beep' before rolling over to its station, narrowly missing Thor’s feet until it was in the corner of the room.

“Save and close down for the night, J.” Tony called as he walked out of the lab, Thor in tow.

When they were outside of the lab, Tony turned to him with a bright smile as he said a quick, “Thanks for being my lab-rat today.” Before he walked into the elevator and shut the doors, leaving Thor completely alone.

When the elevator came back down for the god, Thor gave a look at the blacked-out lab behind him before he looked at the ceiling where he knew that Tony’s ghostly servant was undoubtably watching before he said, voice grave with seriousness, “I would never hurt Anthony the way that you have implied. He is very dear to me, as my teammate… and as something that I am not quite decided on yet. I apologise if I may have given any other impression towards Anthony.”

With that, Thor stepped into the elevator and went to the communal floor where dinner was just about to be served.

As the others pestered him with questions on what resided in Antony’s lab (which Thor did not reveal), the room, the creations and the notes would forever be imprinted upon his mind as he discovered the first signs of Midgardian magic in the making…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think and if it was good for you!  
> I will update this soon promise! See ya!


	3. Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I’ve finished another!! In case you didn’t notice, I am very proud of this fact! :D
> 
> Hope you enjoy this as I made it extra long to make up for the wait!

Once upon a time, Thor, as a young and war-hungry warrior, along with his friends had considered strength to be an ultimate power. For how could one have power without strength, they could be easily overthrown if they couldn’t fight to defend themselves. If they were attacked by a wild beast or a Frost Giant, they could be easily killed if they possessed none such strength.

Upon visiting Midgard for the first time, turning into a mortal himself, he felt greatly unbalanced for the things he’d have been able to lift with ease and merriment were suddenly straining and hard work. In his first days of staying on Midgard after his father’s exile, Thor couldn’t help but think ‘how in the Nine Realms are they not extinct?’.

Time wore on in his exile and he found that the people of Midgard had more strength than he or any of the Aesir (he didn’t think that even his father had considered that the mortals' strength went way beyond the physical kind). They were resourceful, curious, resilient, intelligent. The only thing they lacked was strength of the physical kind.

However, when he returned, meeting the Avengers and becoming apart of them; each of them showing a strength beyond normal mortal capability. The Captain and his extra capabilities. Lady Natasha and her skilful movements that were far more fluid and fast than that of an Aesir. Clinton and his phenomenal archery, an ability that he nor not many people of Asgard would be able to do with as much efficiency and effect that Clinton could do. The good Doctor could transform himself into a force of nature and into something that Thor had never even dreamed of. Anthony, the Man of Iron used his own intellect and skills to fight, his own mind supplying a technological force that no one on Midgard or in many other Realms would be able to compete with.

He stayed with them for a time, in a home that was offered to him most honourably by Tony but it was only a matter of time before he was called back. Disappointed and with a promise to come back to his comrades and the Director of SHIELD, Thor took off to go home, hoping to complete his Princely duties as fast as possible (as much as he missed his family and friends, he found the thought of leaving Midgard almost unbearable for some reason unknown). It was only when he saw his friends in private, asking for stories of Midgard, did Thor finally understand why he was so reluctant to leave Midgard.

“He is very talented and he could rival the forgers of Asgard with his creations and I believe he’s been able to imitate life into his creations! It is truly remarkable that he be able to do that and still become an honourable warrior! You must meet him one day, my friends, for the Man of Iron is a very generous man!” Thor stated proudly, holding his ale high in the air before he finished it off and placed it down on the table (he’d been scolded by Jane and Anthony one too many times about throwing things when he wanted more).

Expecting to hear some kind of cheer and some enthusiastic babble from his friends about wanting to meet this team he’d fought with, Thor called for one more ale before looking up, concerned by their silence.

“Is something the matter?” Thor asked, placing his ale down as he stared back at their shocked expressions.

It was Fandral that shook himself out of his shock first, as his face was over come by a bright grin, “Well, I guess now we know why you’d prefer to stay there any longer than necessary!” he laughed before he called for another cup of ale as well, leaving the others to input.

“I am very happy for you, my friend.” came the stoic response from Hogun.

“Hear! Hear!” Shouted Volstagg as he lifted his ale with the others and drank, all of them wearing bright grins as they looked at Thor.

It was Sif who caught his utterly confused expression, having no idea what they were drinking to or what they had come to a conclusion about. Her grin of mirth slipped off her face as she said in a more subdued tone, “Thor,” She started off gently, “Have you not figured it out?”

The question having caught all the other’s attentions, they started to talk amongst one another in hushed and hurried tones, looking to Thor and then whispering once again.

His annoyance growing, Thor slammed his fist on the table hard enough for the whole tavern to hear as the conversations at large hushed to silence as they stared at their table. “What is it that you speak?” Thor demanded, voice firm and eyes hard.

Gulping, Fandral seemed to find his tongue first as he leaned forward, the chatter around them rising once again, “Thor. This Man of Iron, this Anthony son of Stark that you speak of, do you feel… protective of him?”

Confusion growing and his anger simmering back down to the under-depths, “Yes, as I am with most of the friends I’ve told you about.”

Sif seemed to hesitate before she said, “You’ve been talking about the Man of Iron for some time now Thor. You’ve talked about him more so than your other Shield Brothers and Sister of Midgard. And…”

“What?” Thor asked, annoyance mounting once more as they held back information he wanted to know.

“Your aura,” Hogun started voice calm and collected, “It turns pink whenever you mention the Man of Iron, around the edges and it went away when you stopped talking about him.”

Thor could only look at them in silence before he felt his cheeks heating up, getting redder and redder under his beard, so much so that his friends could see it. There was a silence throughout the table before his friends burst out laughing.

“So the great God of Thunder has been tamed!” Fandral howled with laughter, bumping into Hogun’s shoulder as he laughed with the others.

By the time their laughter had subsided, Thor’s entire face was enflamed in embarrassment, which was definitely a new development as he never got embarrassed about anything.

* * *

  

After the ordeal with his friends, he paid a visit to his brother, in the prison of Asgard, where he spat and hissed at Thor with unveiled insults until he left. Saying farewell to his parents, Thor left for the bifrost (which had been repaired after all that time without it) and went back to Midgard with the precise destination being on the top of Anthony’s tower.

However, upon his arrival, something instantly felt off about the place. Something that had changed, an event that had change someone. He wasn’t certain but it didn’t sit right within himself and so, with his heart set in a frantic beat of panic, he dropped form the roof of the tower to the large balcony below him. Strides hurried, Thor nearly walked through the glass panels that made the outer walls of the tower— thankfully, it opened up just in time to avoid that.

Stepping into the main sitting area, Thor looked around at the familiar faces, slightly surprised that they seemed to be all relatively safe and comfortable. Steven was sketching his art among the many pages of his note book, Lady Natasha seemed to be doing the activity that she claimed was called ‘filing’, Clinton seemed to be too busy to look at Thor due to his engagement with his game, and Bruce was sat at the kitchen drinking his formula that calmed him so named ‘green tea’ (it’s quite disgusting). However, upon further inspection, he could not see Tony...

“Welcome back, Thor.” the Captain greeted before he stood up but faltered. He frowned as he asked “Is something wrong?”, voice lilted in confusion.

“Where is Anthony?” Thor asked, hand dropping to Mjölnir subconsciously.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Clinton interrupted, abandoning his game as he walked to Thor, hands in the air as a signal of peace… Which Thor found rather confusing, “What’s Stark done now? As far as we know, he’s been staying under the radar since all that business with the Mandarin so I don’t know what getting beaten up by you warrants.”

Panic setting in more firmly, Thor nearly grabbed the archer to shake him and demand answers, “My friend, Friend Anthony has done nothing of ill as of late. However, I would like to know who this ‘Mandarin’ is and what significance he has with Anthony.”

“Mandarin was an enemy of Iron Man,” Lady Natasha spoke up, seeming disinterested with the conversation, “He blew up Stark’s house while he was inside it and for a while the world thought he was dead. Turns out a man named Aldrich Killian decided to kidnap the President of America and Pepper Potts, Stark’s friend and CEO. He developed a virus, of sorts, with an organisation named AIM to make humans more like computer programmings but it was kind of… incomplete. It made people spontaneously combust if the body and DNA couldn’t bond with the virus. We’re not really sure about the outcomes but the President is safe and so is Miss Potts. Stark, however, we don’t know. Like Clint said, he’s been under the radar and we don’t know where he is.”

There was a moment of silence as Thor processed the amount of information given to him and after a minute, the others started to get back to their individual activities when Thor spoke up once more, voice dangerously soft as grey clouds gathered overhead, “And what did you do to aid Friend Anthony in his time of need?” he looked about the room and each of his teammates, finally settling on the Captain himself, the room itself dropping a few degrees at Thor’s increasingly angry aura.

The Captain seemed to hesitate, shoulders visibly tensing the longer Thor looked at him, “It was Iron Man business. He wouldn’t have wanted us to interfere.”

“Perhaps, Captain, you should have aided him regardless, as such teammates would do for one another.”

With that, Thor turned his back on the remaining members of the team but was stopped when Clint quickly caught up to him and put a hand on his arm, “Look, this wasn’t our fault. Stark didn’t call us or anything; he gave away his address to the terrorist that was threatening him and his company. If anything, his pride is wounded and he’s gone to lick his wounds. C’mon, just cool down and relax—“

Before Clint to finish his offer to 'chill out', Thor shoved him lightly away, which by Aesir strength, nearly knocked him over, and turned to the archer with a cold look in his eyes, “I have never met a more selfish and ridiculous excuse of a team. It is a dishonour upon yourselves that you did not help our friend in a time of need and I have never been more disgusted by the disregard you cast for Anthony. He gives you a home and food and yet, when his life is in danger or missing, you ignore him and go back to your lives least it inconvenience you.” Thunder clapped overhead and lightening streaked through the sky, casting a menacing glow over Thor’s face and broad shoulders, displaying Thor’s fury for all to see, “You are not the warriors that I have perceived you to be and I am left in disappointment… For that I have only myself to blame…”

Shaking his head, Thor walked to the elevator and asked to be shown to his floor, not wanting to spend a second more in the presence of these people. It was not a second later that Thor came to his floor and he got a look at the dark hallways that made his living space before the lights flickered on with an eery silence. Releasing a sigh, Thor forced his tense muscles to relax before he looked up to the ceiling with uncertainty on his face.

“Friend JARVIS,” Thor called, unsure if he would get a response, “I wish to know your Father’s location if I be worthy to.”

There was a few seconds of silence and Thor almost gave up, thinking that he would be ignored, until the British voice filtered through the walls, “Of course, Mr.Odinson. Sir is in one of his vacation homes in Italy.”

* * *

 

In all honesty, Thor was never considered the intellectual member of any team he’s been apart of. Before with the team he ran around with in his younger years, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, Loki and, occasionally, Sif would be the ones to reel the others in from their battle lust, handling a situation with words and knowledge which saved them more often than not, no matter how dismissive and unappreciative he was of them. With the Avengers, Thor was the only God on the team, one of power, and a Prince to boot, but he was by far the most intelligent of the team; those rolls were filled by the good Doctor Banner and Tony himself (he wasn’t sure if the Lady Natasha would be included within this category, the woman being much too secretive, even after all this time).

So, he couldn’t really be faulted by the fact that he dashed off into the clouds and over the seas to the nearest land he could find, only to realise that he had no clue where Italy was when he landed.

It was a few hours before he was told by the native people, that spoke in a similar accent to his own, where Italy was exactly with a use of a ‘world map’. Thankful that he didn’t have to go back to the Tower and ask the other Avengers, Thor was once again on his way to the land of Italy.

When he finally got there, a few stops later give or take, Thor was amazed at the contrast that he could see within the landscapes of New York City and the coast of Italy, a coast that draw his heart to it more than most of the places that he’d flown over whilst in the land of Italy. The city was loud, noisy, bustling with never stoping life and movement; there was barely any greenery, every inch of the scene being filled by a person, an obstacle or some building, there was nowhere Thor could look in the city where it was completely still. Here, however, was the polar opposite. It was silent, natural noises filling his ears with a consistency that was pleasant in the Thunder God’s ears. The wind, salty and warm, seemed to caress his skin, playing with his hair and cape, that flowed behind him, in a way that reminded him of what the children would do to him when in Asgard and down at the local villages for a visit. There also seemed to be nobody about for miles and miles. Green plains dotted with wild flowers and trees, bending to the wind’s will; one force of nature dancing with the other in unison. Not a single building could be seen, not a single soul in sight, everything was still and quiet as if time had stopped altogether in this place.

Silently hopeful and peaceful, Thor made his way slowly to the edge of the small cliff, a gut feeling in his chest that drew him to the edge before making his way down. The small beach was as pleasant as the scenery above, the sands shining a golden yellow in the sun, the water lapping gently at the soft sand a few feet away. Waves ebbed and flowed in an almost hypnotic way, the clear waters shimmering in the sun like a million jewels and the waters a breath taking aqua blue— a blue that Thor found himself comparing to the most bluest of eyes in all of Asgard and, still, the waters would be more beautiful.

A serene kind of calm seemed to overcome his normally thrumming nature as he looked out to the everlasting blue. He had to say, Tony had a talent for finding things of beauty, natural or otherwise. In his staring, Thor could feel a presence slowly coming up behind him, footfalls soft but sure as they made their way up to stand by his side. He didn’t have to turn around to see who it was.

“How’d you find me?” can the deep voice behind him, carrying a soft note to it that Thor had never heard before.

Giving a playful grin, Thor looked down beside him to look at the smaller man, as he joked with a bounce of his shoulders, “Well, I am a god. I can do all kinds of wonderous thin-“

“JARVIS told you, didn’t he?”

“Yes… JARVIS told me…” Thor relented, his chest warming in pride when he caught Tony’s lips tug up with a hint of a genuine smile upon his face.

“So what brings you here, Point-Break?” Tony asked as he crossed his arms over his chest but his eyes focused on the elegant movement of the waters in front of them.

Thor, on the other hand, couldn’t look away from his billionaire friend. He looked ill despite his skin, always having been a darker shade than many anyway, was even more tanned in a seemingly healthy glow. The bags under his eyes, however, told a different story. And, although, his hair was washed, it was without a hint of product in it, leaving it a fluffy mess on top of his head. His friend looked like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. At the flash of his aura, Thor saw the beautiful colours that surrounded him, staying a few seconds longer, before they faded away within him (maybe Anthony covering his aura was a subconscious act, something that depended on his state of comfortability in an area). But the extra few seconds of seeing the man’s amazing aura did nothing to settle his nearly overwhelming raise in anger and heartbreak.

The beautiful colours of the damaged soul was almost mocking as he took in the new scar upon Anthony’s soul. The scar was like a split in the middle, a gaping wound that was barely close to healing, a canvass of pain and misery that he went to. The wound was large and dark and on the outer edges, on where it was the most widest, was an sickeningly orange glow, not unlike that of fire, pulsing painfully about it. The wound looked damaging, if not crippling, and would have the most battle worn Aesir bed-ridden and close to death. And yet, here he was, standing tall and proud, breathes easy and eyes dark with past horror but calm.

Thor couldn’t hep but be blown away by the mortals strength. But at the same time, he felt rage and fury start like a fire in his chest, thrumming through him so much that his fingers crackled with electricity, forcing him to curl them inwards. In the distance, a deep rumble of thunder sounded as the crystal blue sky suddenly turned black, the wind whipping about them furiously.

“Thor! Point-Break, calm down!” Tony yelled over the sharp whistle of the wind, that was slowly making its way towards a howling pitch, shivering slightly in his worn denim shorts and loose vest top.

Catching the tremor of the mortal, Thor did his best to rein in his anger, taking deep breaths in a patterned formation like Lady Jane and Lady Darcy had once taught him. Soon, the clouds had dissipated and the threat of a storm had left no evidence of once being there, the sun and air around them warm once again with the crystal blue sky above them.

“I apologise, my friend. I did not mean to loose my temper so.” Thor stated almost mournfully as his mind’s eye kept flashing to the torn up soul of Anthony’s, even more damaged than before he left to visit home.

The mortal side-eyed the god suspiciously with a hint of concern in his eyes before he nodded, willing to let it go. Turning around, his back towards the vast ocean, Tony gestured his head to the cliff face, “C’mon, lets go in.”

Without hesitation, Thor turned around and walked beside the mortal, willing to walk in silence as they did so. This, Thor found odd. This Anthony was so different from the loud and eccentric genius that Thor was so used to; he was quiet, wary and clearly tired. What had happened to the Man of Iron for this to effect him so?

With growing confusion and concern, Thor could only watch as they came closer and closer towards the rocky face of the high cliff, the opposite way to where a step of rocks were seated— the only way for a mortal to get out of the bay without fatal injury. He was about to say something when Tony raised his hand to the rough surface and a blue light outlined the mortal’s hand before the words ‘Tony Stark: Access Granted’ appeared above it. They didn’t have to wait very long until the rocks were separating themselves from one another to reveal and well lit hall way with crisp white walls and smooth polished rock floors that was the same colour as the cliff face.

Truly amazed, Thor found himself breath-taken by the engineer’s capability to surprise him. Anthony would definitely be a worthy mage if he were to live long enough to learn it, although he seems to create his own magic quite effortlessly.

Following the obviously smug genius into his home, Thor let his eyes roam over the exterior of the place, marvelling at the high ceilings, the floor to ceiling windows that let out a view of the beach and the ocean at large. Thor couldn’t help his slight awe as he realised that the windows must have been invisible to the outside world, so camouflaged that even Thor’s warrior-aged eyes had missed it. Truly amazing.

Looking further into the home, Thor found that there were no doors in sight, each room open and accessible in every way. Half finished technology and different pieces of scrap metal and tools were sprawled along every surface available and even the kitchen sink had a few nuts and bolts in it for whatever reason. Fondly, Thor made a note that Tony’s private home took on a view to that of his lab at the Tower, the private home having a bed and a few more blue screens hanging randomly from the ceilings of all rooms. Although, he had even more pictures than he did in his lab all over the walls and sitting in frames, the ghosts casting happy, bright smiles to all that saw them.

His eyes lingered on a young Tony in a business suit seeming to bounce around a stern looking woman, who sported a professional dress and short red hair, the woman’s hair seeming more bright and vibrant than that of Lady Natasha’s, whose hair was that of a darker red, a shade that had Thor thinking of blood more often than not.

“That’s Pepper.” Tony pointed out with a twitch of a smile, having noticed Thor’s lingering gaze upon the photo (Thor doesn’t think he’s ever seen the genius smile in such a way as he does in most of the pictures), “I hired her as my personal assistant when I was younger after she marched into my office and said that I made a mistake. Granted, the mistake was on purpose for that reason. But I never though I’d get someone like her coming into my office, practically breathing fire as she pointed out the mistake and ranted to me about the ’hollow-headed’ bodyguard that she had pepper sprayed to get in.” By the end of this, Tony was doubled over laughing, whipping tears from his eyes as he lost himself in the memory, “You should have seen her face when I told her she was hired! It was priceless!”

With a sad smile, heart seeming to want to rip itself out of his chest, Thor turned to look fully at the Man of Iron, a solum tone to his voice that he couldn’t quite conceal, “You and this Lady Pepper must be feared lovers if she is as bright-spirited as you.”

Chuckling lightly, Tony waved his hand in a dismissive gesture as he breathed out, oblivious to Thor’s tone, “Nope, sorry bud. Still a lone bachelor here. We tried dating in the past but it didn’t really work out. We’re just friends now.”

“Is this Lady Pepper the one who you helped to save recently?” Thor asked curiously, needing the change in conversation to cover up how truly relieved he was about that fact.

However, it appeared to be the wrong question to ask as Tony’s open happiness suddenly closed off into a cool mask of indifference, muscles tense and eyes hard once again. Thor immediately regretted his question as soon as he saw the change.

“C’mon, Thor,” Tony said softly, making the Thunder God shiver slightly as he addressed him by name, “It’s getting late, I’ll show you to your room and the bathroom before I get dinner prepared.”

With that, Tony walked off, letting Thor decide if he wanted to follow or be left behind. After being shown to his room, the evening went in as casually as one would expect with a close friend. After his shower and the delicious dinner that Tony had prepared (truly, it was an amazing meal despite what the others say about the genius’ cooking skills. Which lead Thor to believe that they’d probably never tried anything made by the other sky-oriented superhero). Sleep came quickly to Thor, easily falling into a dreamless rest despite Tony clanging loudly down the halls— having to sleep through Loki’s snoring was much, much worse.

It seemed like no time had passed since he first dropped to sleep when he woke up with a start, a loud agonised scream sounding raw in his ears. Panicked and still clumsy from sleep, Thor nearly fell face first into the carpeted floors before he was rushing out of the bed.

Following the sounds of the scream, Thor rounded the corner into Tony’s room only to be faced with something he’d never seen before. The whole room was alight in living flames, licking at the walls and the little decoration that Tony had in the room. What was surprising was that the room seemed to be made completely of stone, the flames blackening the face of the rocks but not being able to do anymore harm than that. At the centre of the flames, eyes closed and perfectly unharmed from the flames was Tony, thrashing in his singed covers and skin alight in an orange glow, fire surging from his skin and out towards anything and everything.

“Anthony.” Thor breathed out with shock-wide eyes, everything that he’d been questioning now coming into place as he watched the stunning scene before him, “Anthony!” he shouted, finally snapping out of his stupor and rushing towards his friend that withered in past pain. Thor was just thankful that his kind could stand against incredible heats, enabling Thor to walk through the flames and be relatively unharmed before he reached Tony. Grabbing his wrist, Thor twisted the mortal around until he was in Thor’s lap, his wrists pined to his own chest by Thor’s hand while the god’s other hand wrapped around the billionaire’s waist, making sure that the man wouldn’t hurt himself any more than he had.

“Anthony!” he shouted again, trying to wake the man from his torment, “Tony! Wake up, my friend! It is just a dream! Wake up!”

Suddenly, the screaming cut off and the roaring flames died down, simmering down slowly until Tony’s skin was once again at his usual tanned tone, gasps and pants for breath being the only audible thing in the room.

“Thor?” came the croaked voice of the man, throat raw from the screaming.

Almost immediately, the mortal started to cough, large heaving coughs that shook his entire frame and brought tears to his eyes as his hands, that were already on his chest, went to the blue light. Thor’s eyes widened when he saw that the machine was embedded into the man’s chest, scars of all magnitudes spiralling around it. How had Thor not seem this before? Did the rest of the team know? It was astonishing that Tony had even survived such injuries, let alone fight among the Avengers as well as he did.

Reluctantly, Thor dismissed the old injury and focused on Tony, who’s gasping breathes had slowed down to a light pant as he rested boneless against Thor’s chest, uncaring that both his own and Thor’s clothes had been burnt off in the process of his nightmare.

Minutes passed before Thor even considered moving, ignoring Tony’s half-hearted squirming to get away. The two sat in silence as Thor looked down at Tony’s face and Tony looked to the chard room before him.

“I think it’s getting worse…” Tony finally spoke up, voice still weak from his screaming. Hopelessly, Tony rubbed the palms of his hands into his eye-sockets as he gave a harsh exhale, “I don’t know what to do… How am I supposed to save people when I can’t even control this?”

“You will learn,” Thor spoke up, voice soft and eyes never leaving Tony’s face even when the billionaire looked up, eyes interlocking, “Many god’s had been gifted powers such as yours and we were forced to control it, no matter how meagre it was. And let us not forget the good Captain’s developed abilities as well as the good Doctor with the rage beast laying dormant within.”

Before he’d even finished, Tony was already shaking his head, eyes looking sorrowful before he looked down, breaking eye contact completely, “This is different, Thor. This isn’t something that I accidentally did to myself, this isn’t something I signed up for! It’s not part of my biology! I never wanted this!” he started to yell, breaking out of the thunder god’s loose hold as he turned to him with eyes igniting in fire, “This is something that some sick fuck did to me because they thought that it’d be more funny if I died in agony whilst tied to a metal bed frame! This is a virus and it’s changed me, ripped me apart and built me back up again to suit it’s needs!” he seemed to loose all his steam after that as his voice goes soft, head hanging low as he looked up at Thor through his long eye lashes, “This is something I can’t fix or get rid of, Thor, and I don’t think I can deal with that…”

Tentatively, Thor shifted closer to Tony, eyes flickering to the mortal’s aura which showed just how vulnerable the man really was. It damn near broke the god’s heart when all he saw was scarred and tattered remains of a man who’d been through too much. That was all it took for Thor to surge forward and wrap his arms around Tony, bringing the man close to his chest once again.

Tony froze for about half a second before his own arms were circling around the god in a loose embrace as he placed his cheek on his muscular shoulder and sighed out. Absently, Thor noted that Tony’s temperature seemed to run higher than it used to, making the god sigh out as he held the delightfully warm body closer.

“Destiny is a strange thing, my friend,” Thor started, Tony not even moving an inch but Thor knew he was listening, “It was my destiny that I fell to earth as to become the type of leader that Asgard deserved for the future. It was destiny that the tesseract united us together. As it is destiny that you’ve acquired these gifts. How you acquired them my be classed as an evil deed of others, but is it not how one uses it to deem it good or evil?”

“What do you mean, Thor?” Tony asked slowly, moving his body away from the thunderer and Thor having to resist the urge to grab the mortal and hold him to his chest once again.

“Perhaps this is not something that is meant to be fixed. Perhaps this is a good thing.” was all Thor said.

There was a silence between them before Tony seemed to nod and stand up, quickly grabbing a pair of loose trousers before he threw some at Thor and walked away mumbling about needing a drink.

As Thor was about to pull up the trousers, Tony stopped at the door, turning his head just a little, “Hey,” he called out softly, capturing the god’s attention, “Thanks.” the billionaire gave him a small smile before he walked out, heading for the kitchen, no doubt to get a glass of water, unaware of what he’d done to Thor.

At those words and the smile directed at him, something so tender and thankful, Thor couldn’t help but blush slightly, his heart rate elevating. Luckily, his beard hid most of it...

* * *

 

“Thor! Put me down!” Tony yelled, cheeks going red in embarrassment as Thor suddenly scooped him up mid-step and started to carry him down the hall, princess style.

It had been a number of months since Thor had returned to earth and found Tony in a reclusive spot in Italy. It had been close to three months of training in the open fields that surrounded Tony’s get-away home for Tony to fully control his newly developed powers. It had taken a little while at first due to the fact that Tony was hesitant to use his powers against the god, incase of injuring him but over time, he realised that the god was mostly flame resistant and wouldn’t harm him.

Thor himself was becoming more and more amazed with Midgardian courage and survival as he watched everyday as Tony’s cracked and near-shattered aura healed into a thin slither of a line over the course of a few months when it would have taken an Aesir the rest of their lives to heal from such a wound, if they did survive it that was. The sickly orange glow that had once pulsed around the aura-wound was now a ripple of power through the colours, showing that he’d turned his greatest fear into his own power.

Thor was also mesmerised by the Man of Iron’s strength, one that is past the norm of mortal standards, like most of their team members, but the fierceness that he held within battle whilst they fought was incredible. Thor just couldn’t believe how much the Man of Iron had come to fight like a well seasoned Aesir warrior, especially after Thor gave the mortal a large training sword to work with (though, that was more for Thor’s own curious interest).

Now, they were back in the Tower at the heart of New York after their was a city panic that the rest of the Avengers needed the only two flying members for. After the battle, all had apologised and all was forgiven with Tony and Thor moving back into the tower with the bustling city of people beneath, a striking contrast to the isolated place of Italy that he’d stayed in with Tony.

The rest of the team had well adjusted to the change in Tony when they saw it, mainly through when Tony had lifted up his helmet after the battle and his eyes were sparking fire with battle lust or something akin to it. The Captain had only been accepting when he heard that Thor and Tony had been training to control the new-found power.

Also with Tony’s new power, he became more resilient to Thor’s hugs and heavy handedness, not staggering at every slap of his shoulder or nudge of his arm.

What was also achieved of this predicament was that Thor’s help and training to the Man of Iron, they had bonded more than he had with anyone else on the team, allowing Thor into his lab when he asked while the others still weren’t, allowing Thor to touch him more and sometimes he’d take things from Thor’s hands when he refused to do so with others.

This treatment made Thor a very happy thunderer and in his joy, he picked up Tony more often than not and would walk them into different sections of the tower, the mortal putting up little fight even though they both knew that he could get out of the hold easily.

This time, Thor wanted them both to do something like when they were in Italy.

Ignoring the light thumping on his muscled shoulders, Thor could only grin as he caught Tony pouting as he subjected himself to the thunderer’s whims.

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” he asked glumly, cheeks only growing a brighter red when they walked passed the communal kitchen where most of the team were gathered. Most of them just looked and shrugged it off, used to the duo’s close relationship now that they’ve had time to adjust but Thor saw that the Captain still looked a little shocked as he saw the two walking towards the elevators without either giving a reason for their destination.

“Of course, Anthony,” Thor smiled down at the mortal, a little hope blooming in his chest as he saw Tony look away, trying to hide his deeper blush on his cheeks, “We are headed to my chambers of retirement so as we may watch a movie, in one another’s company, in peace. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I recall you wanting to present The War of Stars to me.”

“It’s Star Wars, Thor,” Tony rolled his eyes at the wrong title, “And if you wanted to watch it, you didn’t have to carry me. You could have just asked.”

Smirking down at the mortal, Thor rumbled lowly, “What if I just wanted you in my arms?”

This comment didn’t seem to faze the mortal like everything else Thor did as he merely raised his eyebrow at the thunder god and drawled in a sarcastic voice, “Right and it has nothing to do with the fact that you want a mortal seized hot water-bottle for you to cuddle for a while as we watch it?” the scepticism became clearer when he finished his sentence.

Thor said nothing but only grinned down at the mortal in his arms who was already radiating warmth through Thor’s chest despite his own words.

Settling down with Tony beside him, Thor held the mortal close as the asked his creation to turn on the television and dim the lights. After that, they settled in silence to watch the film, Tony often speaking to deliver random facts and scientific equations to all the different futuristic things shown that Midgard hadn’t created as of yet and made Thor laugh at the different ‘species’ that were presented in the moving pictures.

By the end of it, Thor looked to Tony and smiled slightly when he found that the mortal had dropped off to sleep, breath even and muscles relaxed, making the mortal seem more child-like in appearance than the brave and conquering man that Thor had seen time and time again.

In the darkness of the room, Thor eyed the blue light in the centre of Tony’s chest, a piece of machinery embedded into the man’s skin. Upon arriving back to the tower, Thor had asked the good Doctor if he’d known anything about it. All Doctor Banner had said was that it was a result of Tony’s time being a captive in Afghanistan where he first became Iron Man.

Looking down at the device, Thor knew that it mustn't have been one of choosing and would cause great pain even to one as powerful and strong as a god.

It made Thor wonder what other pains and sufferings the Man of Iron had gone through, alone, to make them scars upon his aura and, no doubt, his body. It made him wonder if all mortals had this strength or if it was just Tony that possessed such a thing.

It made Thor hope that Tony would one day find a close enough companion to him that he would share the burden of his pain than shoulder it alone, a strength that not many of this universe possessed. And Thor secretly hoped that it was him that Tony would share his burden with one day…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters to go!  
> I will write soon, hopefully after or before the christmas holidays! Thanks for sticking with it and all the kudos and comments for this story and all the others!
> 
> Bye for now!


	4. Hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was going to post over Christmas but for the clumsy fool that I am, I broke my laptop! Yay!
> 
> Role-play:  
> I'm typing happily on my laptop.  
> I go to get a drink. I put it down but then I move it behind my laptop so it wouldn't spill over the keys. Logic and Responsibility.  
> Dad: "Here's your beacon sandwich!"  
> Me: "Yay!"  
> Immediately forget what I just thought about and pushed my laptop away to make room. Knock can of coke and it goes over the screen!  
> Me: "Oh crap!!!!!!!!"
> 
> So that was my Christmas and now I'm typing from a laptop in college when I have spare time!  
> I'm just glad I got this done!

Everything about an Aesir was strong. Their skin was thick to help them through any kind of extreme weather but if they had to deal with it for an extended amount of time, they would surely become effected by it. Their nerve endings were placed deeper into their bodies, making it so that when injured in battle, they would not fall to their enemy's blade quite so easily due to pain. Senses were heightened to aide them in battle so no cowardly killer could attack them from behind.

Literally, everything about them was so that no enemy would be able to gain the upper hand in a fight. There was a reason why all the Nine Realms called them the "Eternal Realm" or the "Warriors of the Nine", for none could kill them and whoever could had gained their kill with the honour of a true warrior. Most called Aesir "hard headed" as well, due to the fact that they had exceptionally thick skulls.

Through their rough exterior, their hair was also effected, made so that it was strong like the rest of their body. All of their hair was thick stranded and wiry, making it hard for an enemy to harm them by their hair. Sif was often talked about greatly among the many maidens in his home, describing her perfect hair and praising her on how well and beautiful she kept it. Her hair was considered the most beautifully soft hair in Asgard.

So, it came of quite a surprise to Thor when he felt mortal hair for the first time, although it was completely by accident.

He and the rest of the Avengers team were staying with Tony within his tower on the top floors; a temporary location for them to stay in as Tony and Fury made a Head Quarters for them to stay in for long term use. Tony's slight change in biology had been well accepted by the team and everything had gone back to the way it was before in the tower.

Breakfast was often a messy affair within their strange household as they were all completely different people and so desired different things in the morning. Steve would often be by the stove, his bacon sizzling away on one frying pan, eggs on another and pancakes being flipped into the air every ten seconds. Clint would eat last night's food, no matter how cold it had gotten in the night, while Natasha would carve different exotic fruits for her and Bruce to have over a cup of tea and coffee. Tony would often inhale his coffee and steal bits of food off of the Cap's plate without him looking, reheating his coffee with exremis whenever he forgot about it. Thor would be lumbering about the kitchen awkwardly, attempting not to break another one of Tony's trinkets as he moved his large stature in an attempted to get to his toaster and pop-tarts around his other teammates without knocking them over.

On one particular occasion, Thor's hand had accidently brushed Clint's hair as he sat tiredly upon the counter, cheeks puffed out with last night's Chinese food, a noodle hanging from his lips. The mere fluffiness of the strands made Thor stop and still in wonder, reaching out his fingers to delicately touch the soft hair upon the man's head, hair that was softer than Sif's by far. Within seconds, his hands grew bolder as he ran his fingers through the otherworldly softness and marvelled at the thin strands that made up the mortal's head of hair.

"Er," came an awkward cough to the side of him, making Thor realise that the entire kitchen had gone deafly silent, all eyes turning to him in some amounts of shock, confusion and bordering horror (Steve). Looking to Tony, Thor couldn't help the small smirk that lifted his lips as he saw that Tony's shoulders were shaking with laughter, a hand covering his mouth as he attempted to look innocent to the Captain who would glare at the billionaire when his chuckling became a little too loud.

Turning to face the Captain that spoke, Thor lifted his eyebrow expectantly, his hand never moving away from Clint's hair even when the archer attempted to escape it. "Thor, what are you doing?"

Frowning at the Captain's incredulous stare, Thor couldn't help but think that it would be obvious, "I am marvelling Clinton's hair. 'Tis the softest hair that I have ever felt. Lady Sif would look upon you with great envy, my friend." he stated seriously. Thor really hoped that Sif wouldn't give into the jealousy she would surely feel when she found out about it, sometimes her envy could rival that of Loki's when it came to appearances; vain would probably be a more accurate description for it.

Tugging lightly at the archer's hair, Thor could only marvel once again when he saw only a few strands come out and the archer didn't even flinch at the pain it would have caused an Aesir. "Truly, fascinating." the Thunderer breathed in awe of how soft it was. Then, sudden realisation hit as he looked at the others around the room who had yet to move from their unblinking state; except Tony that is, who could only smile into his coffee cup, eyes glinting in amusement as he discretely told JARVIS to take pictures. "Is all Midgardians' hair as soft as this or is it just Clinton that holds the place for magnificent hair?"

With that, he attempted to move to the Captain, intent on finding out if his question was true but was immediately stopped when Steve danced away from Thor's touch, looking mortified that he was actually about to be petted like some desirable puppy, making Tony cackle in glee - most likely bouncing for joy at the fact that he was getting pictures of it all.

"No!" came Steve's shocked yell, wide eyes soon narrowing into seriousness when Thor went to do it again, "Thor. Stop." he commanded in a deadly serious tone, making Thor pause and tilt his head in confusion, "You can't just start touching people's hair. It's rude and some people might even put it down as some form of harassment if they take offence to it." Steve explained in his Captain America voice and looked at Thor until the God nodded in understanding, "Hair can sometimes be a private matter. You can't touch someone's hair without asking permission first."

There was silence in the room until Thor drew himself up to his full height and nodded his head before turning around to face a very much wide awake Clint who still hadn't moved from his perch, and bowed in remorse, "I apologise Clinton son of Barton, I meant no offense when I touched your hair. I did not know it was so sacred to your kind."

Silence stretched on as Clint only nodded his head, everyone still staring at Thor (except Tony who had stolen Steve's pancake and bacon from the pan) as if afraid that he would reach out and pet them.

It was only broken by Tony's amused snort as he chewed on Steve's bacon, "Who would have thought that Cap had a hair phobia?"

Suddenly, the kitchen was a bustle of movement again as everyone went back to what they were doing, as if it never happened. Forgotten in an instant. Now, Clint was getting coffee and Steve was giving Tony a stare of disapproval as the billionaire delightfully ate the man's breakfast that he'd so carefully prepared for the past twenty minutes. The way that they all seemed to bounce back from his supposed 'sleight' against Clint surprised Thor immensely. What was it about mortal hair that had them taking offense but then letting it go so easily?

* * *

 

The next time Thor felt mortal hair, he was thrown for another shock. In his attempt to reach other the soft bodies of his teammates to reach the sugary goodness that Tony had so proudly proclaimed as "popcorn", his fingers had brushed the blood-red curls of Natasha's hair. He had suspected to find that it would be as soft as Clint's had been, if not more due to the fact that she was female, but he'd been incredibly surprised to find that Natasha's hair was something different. Her hair was smooth, a silky smoothness that had Thor thinking about the exquisite material of his mother's finest dresses, as well as a harness to the texture that kept the curls in an immaculate formation.

However, Thor didn't have very long to investigate the differences between the two assassins' hair as he felt his hand caught in a tight grip before he was being thrown on the floor. Slightly disoriented, it took him half a second to realise that the small weight upon his chest was Natasha aiming a gun in his face, a deadly look in her eyes.

"What the hell, Thor?" the woman practically growled, making a show of flicking off the safety as she pointed the gun more accurately between his eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, Nat," Tony jumped in, harshly dislodging Clint's feet from his lap as he leapt up to Thor's defence, "No need to be trigger happy. If he meant any harm, I'm sure you'd be dead."

Blushing under Tony's concerned gaze, Thor made sure not to look at the mortal, for he would bluish more if he did, and spoke, "My sincerest apologise, Lady Natasha, I meant no sleight by you. I was just confused about the texture of your hair. I have never felt such silkiness or hardness in all my centuries of life." he couldn't quite help the wonder that seeped into his voice towards the end.

"That would be the wonders of curling irons and hair spray, Point-Break." Tony replied for her, an amused lilt to his voice.

Thor dared not look away from the fuming red-headed assassin as he apologised again, "I am sorry, my friend, I forgot myself once again and for that, I truly have no excuse. I hope that I may earn your forgiveness over time if you find me ever worthy of forgiving."

Subtly, the assassin rolled her eyes before she tucked away her gun and got off of the god, telling herself that she didn't want the wrath of Odin and all of Asgard if she killed their 'Golden Prince'. "It's fine, just don't do it again." she stated, giving a deadly glare to the thunder god before she sat back down, tucking her legs into Bruce's thighs as the movie was resumed.

Confused, Thor sat on the sofa, getting comfortable in his place once again as Tony got comfortable in his own, Clint lifting up his legs before placing them on Tony again.

Distantly, Thor wondered what Tony's hair would feel like. Would it be soft and fluffy like Clint's or would it be silky and hard like Natasha's was? He couldn't help but wonder and as he wondered, his blush got deeper at the thought of doing something that was clearly an intimate action among mortals. Thank Odin's Bread for dark rooms...

* * *

 

By the end of the month that Thor discovered the softness of mortal hair, he'd accidently felt his teammate's hair, accidental brushes and carried away fascination getting the better of him. Slowly, Thor got used to the idea that mortal hair was just naturally softer than Aesir as Thor experienced the delicate strands on each of his team mates' heads. Steve's hair was hard like his warrior aura, thick and wiry like Thor's but it still had a softness to it that resembled the natural softness that they all seemed to posses. Bruce's hair was curly and soft, a sort of softness that told Thor just how worn he was, a testimony of his years of running, the slight grey adding to effect.

The only one that he had not touched the hair of was Tony, who he wanted to touch the most. It was on his mind constantly. He often wondered how his hair in particular would feel; if it was soft and fluffy or smooth and hard stands like his first experiences with the assassins on his team. From a distance, Tony's hair looked fluffy and soft but it also took on an appearance that he would have gathered as hard and pressed like Natasha's hair was.

It was hard in resisting just reaching out and touching the hair of his person of interest, like he'd done with the others, but if it was as intimate as the mortals made it out to be, he didn't want the first experience to be an accident, he wanted it to be significant. He also didn't want to scare Tony off by offending him.

That time came when he was alone and in private.

Night had befallen the team once again as the day came to an inevitable end and sleep called to them. As an Aesir, Thor didn't need to sleep as much and so, he spent much time on the internet and searched as much about the human world as he possibly could, adding a mental note to tell his friends about the useful activity when he went back to Asgard for a visit.

In his boredom, Thor walked into the darkness of the communal living room and paused in surprise when he saw Tony. The man was standing by the window, looking down at the still bustling city bellow as the lights flashed and ant-like people moved along the sidewalk. Although, it was strange to find one of his teammates up at this "ungodly hour", as Clint had put it once (much to Thor's confusion), it wasn't as surprising as the orange glow that the mortal was giving off. Orange stained his skin, growing beyond his shoulders and down  his arms, the bright orange in contrast to the blue orb that glowed within the genius' chest.

"My friend," Thor started tentatively, worry increasing when Tony didn't even startle at his interruption, "Are you well?"

The bitter laugh that flew from Tony's mouth didn't help settle his nerves at all but he listened intently when Tony started to talk, "Would you believe me if I said that out of everything, the aliens, the robots and monsters, that humans scare me the most?" the question sounded defeated, a tired and worn sigh deflating his shoulders as he continued to look out of the window, "I'm not a soldier. I'm not a spy. I'm not a god and didn't have any superpowers or strength before extremis. I'm on this team because I was so scared of the world around me that I made a suit to help me cope."

Another bitter laugh filled the room before Thor spoke up, "What is it that you mean, my friend?"

With that, Tony finally turned around to face the god of thunder, eyes glowed faintly in the dark but they still portrayed a broken mourning that Thor wanted to cure him of, "Before I was Iron Man, I was a businessman, I designed weapons for my country to protect them from others and my main partner was a man named Obadiah Stane. He was like a father to me and he always said that I could depend on him because he would always be by my side to support me. Then, on a weapons display in Afghanistan, I was kidnapped but I got a chest full of shrapnel for my troubles. I was tortured in a cave for three months before I designed the arc reactor to keep the metal away from my heart and my first suit to escape them, my friend died along the way..." He drifted off mournfully, "At first, I wanted to build the suit to protect people, at least that's what I thought, but then, I found out that Obie was the reason that I was kidnapped and he tried to kill me off a second time by trying to take out my arc reactor, the only thing that kept me alive... After that, I found it hard to be near anyone that I didn't know properly and the suit stopped being something for the people and became an armour to protect myself from them. I'm not a hero, Thor, I'm just a normal man that has nightmares of people that have harmed me. Of all the aliens and scary things we have to fight, humans are still the worst kind of monsters in my eyes..."

There was silence after a moment as Thor took in all the information and looked at the man before him, looked at the cracks of fiery orange over his skin, the blue light embedded in his chest, something that must have been forced into his chest - how deep did that thing go? He them took in the light scars that could be seen in the moonlight, over his shoulders and around his chest, painfully inflicted wounds that still hadn't faded over time. Tony's aura spoke for itself. Black scars ran through them and Thor couldn't help but wonder if it was this Stane that had scarred not only his inner soul but the shield that protected it from the outside world.

Distantly, Thor noted that it was easier to see Tony's aura now. When they first met, Thor had only first seen the green of arrogance in a self-crafted shield before he looked harder and saw the beauty within. Now, the green was nothing but mist on the outside, fogged and fake as the bright gold of Tony's aura shined through for him to see.

Silently, Thor stepped over to the hurt mortal, a hurt mortal that had been knocked down and destroyed by those he trusted before he rebuilt himself as stronger and better, giving himself a means to survive in his world. It was admirable. It was beautiful.

Without a word, Thor wrapped his arms around Tony and was relieved when after a second of tenseness, his muscles relaxed like liquid metal into his chest. Slowly, he guided them to the comfortable sofa and sunk down into the seat, Tony coming with him. As he laid down, Tony seemed to fit against his body in a perfect mould and Thor couldn't help but rumble slightly in happiness when Tony relaxed into him further, the orange giving way to tanned skin and as Tony's head tucked neatly under the god's chin.

Tentatively, Thor's hand came up. There was only a moment of hesitation and doubt, in his mind that Tony would recoil and turn away from him, when he took a leap of faith and gently rested his hand against the man's hair. When Tony didn't even flinch at the touch, only snuggling in further, Thor threaded his fingers through Tony's hair and he couldn't help but feel a heat build up in his chest when Tony only hummed in happiness, muscles relaxing further into the god. Thor was immensely happy about this show of trust Tony had in him.

Fingers gentle and never stopping in their movements, Thor couldn't help but marvel at the man's hair as he _finally_ got to touch it. It was soft, like Clint's, but it wasn't fluffy, it was silkiness that wasn't like Natasha's as it seemed like the personification of gold threaded hair. It was everything that Thor had hoped for Tony's hair to feel like and he continued on for what felt like hours, happy that Tony hadn't pulled away from his touch and happy that he'd be willing to spend an intimate ritual with Thor.

"Thank you." Tony gave a tired smile as he looked up at Thor through his thick eyelashes, making Thor's chest tighten at the sight of it.

"For what?" He asked softly, fingers never stopping in Tony's hair.

"For finding me in Italy first." Tony gave him a real smile, one that positively took Thor's breath away.

Slowly, Tony drifted off to sleep, breaths even and fingers twitching as they rested against Thor's body. Soon, enough, sleep claimed the god with his fingers still tangled in Tony's silky stands of hair.

Later, they would both regret falling asleep in the communal living room when they woke up surrounded by the amused faces of their teammates and phones. Within the hour, the picture of Tony and Thor asleep together on the sofa would break the internet and Pepper would come into the kitchen, red-faced and furious about the paperwork that she had to do now due to the picture. Tony could only grin at Thor, amusement shining in his eyes as well as something else that had Thor's heart thumping deeply in his chest, seeming to echo throughout his body.

At the moment, he didn't care and Thor could only smile as he drifted off to sleep, thanking the Norns for this gift of Tony Stark amongst the Earth. Right then, he couldn't have been more happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter!  
> Get ready for chapter 5!! Yay!!


	5. Life-span

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The end is near!!  
> I think I actually made this chapter longer than it was supposed to. I really did love this story, it was nice to write about romance than all the darker stuff that I write about!  
> Hope its the ending your looking for!

Being home in Asgard, after spending so much time on Midgard, was like breathing easy once again. It brought an easy smile to his face and a relaxed posture of his shoulders. It brought Thor safety and security, as well as love and joy; he easily dived into all the memories that every pillar and every empty spot on a side table, where there used to be a vase, brought about. Most of his memories were with Loki and their misadventures, before they grew older and became distant, before jealously, rage and betrayal tainted their relationship forever. His other memories were of him being a boisterous and adventurous young lad, who would run away from the maids of the palace, or of him and the Warrior's Three, at a younger age, playing with their wooden swords down the hallways and creating a mess that they didn't really care about.

Asgard would always be his home and the warmth that surfaced within his chest just summed up how in love with his home he truly was. Every Realm was unique and wonderful in their own ways, the different species and traditions intrigued him, but there was only one place that he could definitely, without a doubt, call home no matter his mood or actions before hand. Asgard was his roots and he couldn't be more proud of them.

Going home shouldn't have been as hard as it was. Reluctance and distrust kept his feet planted to the Midgardian soil, unable to even consider going home with the issue unresolved.

However, his reluctance to leave Midgard was immediately solved when he brought the tether to the Mortal Realm with him.

Maybe, he should have thought through his rash decision before he broke into Tony's lab and dragged him up to the roof of the Tower, before anyone could really stop him, and called Heimdall to open the gates. Later, he would be surprised by how fast the gate to Asgard was opened to Thor with a stranger in hand. Heimdall did not allow mortals into the immortal Realm, even on the King's orders most of the time.

Really, he should have been expecting Tony to freak out just a little bit.

"Thor! What the hell?!" Tony shouted, eyes burning as bright as the magical forge pits that the black smiths used, glowing blue circles sitting neatly along his palms - he must have interrupted Tony during his updates on his armour. "Are we in Asgard?! Thor, take me back! I have a meeting in an hour and Pep's going to be searching for _blood_ if I don't turn up on time for this one!"

"My apologies, Man of Iron, but I think that it would be a poor insight in leaving you with our other Shield comrades in the time that I am away." Thor truthfully told the mortal. In all honesty, he'd been greatly panicked at the thought of leaving Tony on his own with the other Avengers, especially with what happened the last time he was visiting his home Realm. He could not trust the others not to repeat their mistakes and he refused to leave it to chance.

Immediately, Tony's eyes softened at Thor's concerned expression, realisation of what he was talking about letting his eyes dim slightly in response, "I'm not a delicate little flower that needs protecting, Thor. I can look after myself, I have for many years now. But I _need_ to go back home." Tony stressed gesturing back to the area they had just appeared from.

Just as Thor was about to argue back, Heimdall interrupted in his cool and emotionless voice, "Greetings, my Prince. I'm afraid that your father demands an audience in questioning of the guest you bring."

"A guest that he'll be taking back right away so there's really no need for it," Tony turned to the gate keeper with a bland smile before his eyes snapped back to Thor, the fire around his iris' intensifying, "You need to take me back, Thor. If all the Norse Lore I've been reading up on is even  _partially_ true, it's that mortals, such as yours truly, aren't supposed to be here." he finished off with a hiss, repulsors whining in warning.

"Anthony, my friend, I am afraid it is not as simple as you wish it to be," Thor started, "The All-Father must see all of those who enter and leave Asgard, if they never intended to visit here or not. I'm afraid, we shall have to wait for my father's decision before you are allowed home. Come, my friend, we shall see my home together." Thor finished with a hopeful smile as he gestured to the exit of the small golden dome that was their inter-Realm transport.

Slowly, but surely, Tony's eyes dimmed and his skin cooled down, leaving him with his honey brown eyes and a little bit of smoke wafting from his lightly burned clothes. The mortal nodded shortly before he spoke again, "Okay, Point-Break, lead the way, but if Pepper comes for blood, your dealing with it." he stated with a pointed finger at the thunder god.

Attempting to suppress a large pleased smile, Thor outwardly nodded with a grace that was of his Princely status rather than a giddy lover.

As they both left, Thor couldn't help but think that maybe he'd been much too obvious when he spotted a small curl of Heimdall's lips.

Walking the long bridge (It would have been faster to fly but Thor wanted to draw out the time with the mortal before he was inevitably sent back), Thor couldn't keep the smile from his face as he and Tony spoke with an ease that the genius didn't seem to possess with the others of the team. For the time that they had to walk to the palace, Tony asked questions in rapid fire, never being satisfied with the answers Thor gave as he asked more questions until the thunderer had gone into depth about the object in question. It was nice to see the light in Tony's eyes as he spoke quickly, bringing up a small blue screen from the watch from his wrist as he quickly typed in what Thor was talking about before seeming to take pictures of every small discovery of the Realm. He only really seemed to stop in his talking when he was typing up his own hypothesis and equations about the objects in question, subconsciously muttering to himself as he went.

All too soon, both of them were at the front gates of the Golden Kingdom, still talking about this and that, as Tony laughed about how pissed Fury was going to be when he heard about Tony going to Asgard while he didn't. When they were close to the throne room, Thor felt himself become more sombre as they neared his father and the conversation he was about to have with him, it seemed that his shift in mood was also noticed by Tony as the genius soon became silent as well.

Both of them walked side by side as the great double doors of the throne room were opened simultaneously and they entered the room that, not only contained Thor's father but his mother, as well as the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.

There were a few seconds of silence before the All-Father spoke, his one eye flicking from the mortal to his son, "Welcome back, my son. Your coming would have been a celebration of Joyous occasions if you had not brought a mortal to our Realm along with you. What reason does he have here, Thor? He does not belong."

"Father, this was not of my friend's doing but of my own. I brought Anthony here as a precaution as well as for my peace of mind." he then gestured to Tony who was still in his loose jeans and white vest top, the glow of the Arc Reactor glowing through the thin material and scars peeked around the material, "May I introduce my Shield Brother, Anthony, son of Stark, the Man of Iron. I also must inform you, father, but Anthony is not anything of a mere mortal as he is also much more."

Intrigue could be seen by all of the others in the room, Thor's friends gave a few snickers and winks in his direction, Frigga gave a small knowing smile as she looked at Tony's relaxed form, while Odin only looked confused.

"What ever do you mean, my son?" came his doubtful question.

"Anthony has acquired a gift that none other in all of Midgard could ever possess. He has a gift of heat and fire, in which he can control to his will." Thor beamed in pride as he looked back at his friend.

There was a laugh that echoed off of the walls of the throne room, mocking and cruel as it sounded around them. Frowning in slight anger and annoyance, Thor's eyes zeroed in on a person to the side that he'd missed, one that had a bitter taste arising in his mouth.

"Uncle, it has been a while. How do you fair?" Thor asked politely, but anyone that really knew him could tell that it was in a strained voice. Thor had never liked his distant uncle on his father's side. The man usually stayed places unknown to Thor, not that he'd ever had the care to ask where it was the man slithered back to after his distasteful visits. Greed and lies lit up the man's eyes whenever they landed on someone worthwhile.

"Very well, Nephew. What is it that's caught your interest now, Thor? A tasteful mortal, I see. And these powers, you speak of, are they mainly shown in private? Say, a room with a bed in the premises and a lock placed conveniently on the door?"

"What is it that your implying, Uncle? And be very careful in which you speak." Thor growled dangerously, thunder sounding in the distance.

"I think he's hinting sex, Point-Break." Tony laughed from slightly behind him, amusement clear in his voice.

As the Thor took a look behind him, he couldn't help but smirk slightly at his mortal's expression. It was one that he'd seen many times before, aimed at the Captain whenever he said something to aggravate Tony; it was a sharp smile, arms crossed and leaning back slightly. Everything about his body language screamed relaxed and unbothered but his eyes held Hell Fire, both literal and figurative.

The sight of Tony's glowing orange eyes had the whole throne room turned into silent fascination, having never seen anything of the sort.

"I had an accident," Tony spoke up, voice strong and devoid of all emotion as he stared at everyone in the room head on, chin tilted up in defiance and as show of courage, "My friend was about to die with an injection that was supposed to change her genetic make-up that would eventually kill her, as it had with many people before. When I volunteered instead, they stuck me with it. Apparently, I was one of the only test subjects able to survive the change. Now, I've got this for the rest of my life." he finished, voice turning to a chilling tone as his eyes landed on Thor's uncle. On the last sentence, Tony's skin flared up in an orange glow, his eternal fire cracking the skin on his arms and making burning embers drift from his burning skin.

Then, the heat ebbed away and within a second, any trances of the fiery glow had completely disappeared.

Odin seemed to be the first of the audience to snap out of his stupor as he spoke up once again, his eyes connecting with Tony's own, and for the first time acknowledging his presence. The mortal didn't even twitch under the King's intense gaze, "What business do you have here?" Odin finally spoke up.

"I have no business here, Odin All-Father," Tony replied, chin still tilted in a form of strength and defiance, but his voice held a respectful tone as one would with a King, "Thor was just taking me back to my Realm when he was summoned to an immediate audience with you. My being here was all a mistake. If you wish, I will be happily on my way, now."

"My friend, I still stand by what I argued before," Thor interrupted, "The others of our team can not be trusted to not come to your aide if you should need it. You mustn't forget their previous abandonment that lead to your recent change."

"Jesus help me..." Tony muttered to the ceiling before he focused on Thor once again, "That's not going to happen again. I'll be _fine_ on my _own_." Tony stressed.

"I know not of who this Jesus is. Is he an accomplice of some sort?" Thor asked, completely confused.

Sighing a sigh of a man that had been through this conversation a thousand times before, Tony pinched the bridge of his nose before he looked back at Thor, "We've been through this before, Thor. Jesus is an important person to the Christian religion that most of the world worship."

"Do the mortal Realm not worship us though?" Fandral asked, confusion and curiousness clear on his face.

"Not any more. Last time anyone really worshipped Norse gods was when there were Vikings. So maybe about a thousand years ago? People now believe in a range of things, Christianity being one religion of many." Tony explained before he rounded back to Thor with a finger pointed at his chest, "And don't try to change the subject! I need to go home and you know it!"

"I do not understand why you fight with me on this so!" Thor complained loudly with a small frown of confusion.

"Have you met, Pepper? You know, tall red-head, wears all white, got those killer stilettos that she wouldn't hesitate to _kill_ me with when she finds out that I've missed about twenty odd meetings due to the fact that I was _off world_." Tony argued back, hands becoming more and more animated as he went on.

"And I shall protect you."

"I don't need protection, I need to do my job." Tony pressed with a small glare, eyes glowing faintly in his annoyance, "Not all of us can pop in for a couple of months before you can go off again. I've got a company to run and inventions to present. I can't just take a month's vacation when I've got over a thousand employees expecting me to do my job."

"What of your time in Italy?" Thor pointed out, more curious than anything.

"I didn't stop working just because I was hiding from the team. I did my meetings online, which I don't think I can do from another Realm entirely- Oh crap!" Tony jolted in realisation, eyes wide with slight panic, "I was supposed to meet with the Leader of China for a business proposition tomorrow! Thor, take me back now!" Tony demanded with quick words.

"I cannot trust the others-"

"Enough!"

The sharp voice of the All-Father swiftly interrupted them, his spear slamming down on the floor, making everyone stop and stare at him, the loudness of the bang echoing off of the pristine walls of the throne room. When he was sure he had everyone's attention, he continued in his usual voice, "Since neither of you can make a decision of what to do in this situation, I shall take responsibility. Although I discourage the thought of allowing morals into the Eternal Realm, it is clear that you are a worthy and seasoned warrior of your Realm. I see no problem occurring with a short stay in the time of Thor coming a leaving. Welcome, Anthony, Son of Stark, to Asgard." he formally greeted with a nod of his head, "My wife shall make sure that you are correctly clothed during your stay here in Asgard."

"Thank you, father." Thor thanked brightly as he smiled at the god and performed a small bow before he dragged a spluttering Tony from the throne room and towards his personal halls.

"Thor. Thor! I can walk on my own." Tony spoke up when they were further away from the throne room and the blue-eyed King, that looked like he was assessing Tony's every soul.

"My apologies, my friend," Thor smiled lightly, before letting go of Tony and letting him walk beside him, "I was merely eager to show you your room during your stay."

"Do I really have to stay here until your ready to leave?" Tony asked with a slightly raised eyebrow at the blond god.

"Father's word is law here. Your stay here will not be uncomfortable, my friend, do not worry so." Thor smiled down at Tony before he lead them to a large polished dark oak door and opened it.

When they went in, there were still a few maids rushing about as they placed materials and clothes into, what could only be assumed as, the closet.

"Wow," Tony breathed as he took in some of the leather and armour - was that a cape? - that he would have to wear during his stay, "Your mum works fast."

As Tony looked back at Thor, he saw a large pleased smile gracing the golden god's face, "She seems to be very eager of your arrival. She shall want to speak with you in the time of your visit. I shall leave you to dress appropriately in the clothes on the bed." was all he said before he turned away to go to his own room.

Sighing once more, Tony looked at the different items with a small amount of curiosity.

"How do you even put on this stuff?" he muttered to himself as he looked critically at the clothes mixed with armour before him.

* * *

 

It was a week into Thor's return, and Tony's stay, and Thor could never have been happier.

At first, most of the people had complained about the latest development of a mortal in Asgard but word soon got out about Tony's strength, his aura that was mostly hidden but, when shown, was an awe inspiring tapestry of colours and patterns, every curve and blackened scar unique and admirable. They spoke of Tony's bravery in fighting along Thor's side and the tale of how he saved his friend at his own expense, making his would-be death a weapon of his own. They also spoke of his bravery in the throne room as he spoke to Odin, without a quiver in his voice and an unyielding stance, as he gave respect to their King and stood up for his own (Thor had an itching feeling that it was his friends that started the rumours about their resident mortal).

After his valiant stories were told, Thor couldn't help his excitable mood on the days to come following his people's easy acceptance of Tony, as well as his friends getting along with the genius like they had been friends their entire lives. Sif was extremely approving of Tony, as he respected her as a warrior and a force to be reckoned with despite her gender, which had many nobles and warriors underestimating her in many ways. Fandral had been very interested in the changes in Midgard, which Tony didn't mind explaining to him. While they had all been interested in Tony's inventions and his fighting style, which was like no other on Asgard.

The smile that stretched Thor's cheeks had been starting to ache with how wide he presented it but he just couldn't stop the radiant smile from forming on his face, when he thought about how Tony suited the Aesir look. He wore it well, with a mix of blood red and electric blue sown into the expensive materials of his clothing, the brilliantly polished and patterned silver armour fitting neatly to his chest and a design of broken armour that trailed down his arms to his repulsors.

Despite his father's cool demeanour, Thor could see the curiosity and approval in his eyes as he looked at Tony, who was always going something with the technology on his wrist, or when he was forging something that was on par with their own Royal forgers, or fighting in his graceful and outlandish way. Although, the man never said anything about the matter other than a look to Thor, which the thunderer could only interoperate.

Frigga had been a mystery. She hadn't called for Tony's audience as of yet but Thor could see a hint of a smile along her lips and a calculating gleam in her eye as she looked at Tony. None could ever know what she was truly thinking and so Thor was left with more uncertainty towards his mother than he was about his father.

So, within a week of Tony's stay and unreadable glances given in Thor and Tony's direction. Thor wasn't all that surprised when he'd been summoned to have tea in his mother's personal chambers, under the guise of desiring to have some alone time with her son.

Upon stepping through the large chamber doors, Thor stayed silent as he steadily walked over to the table in which his mother was sitting at. Her chair was turned away from the chamber doors with her ringlets of golden hair pouring gracefully down the back of it, the end of her dress splayed effortlessly about her feet in an elegant manner, patiently awaiting her son's arrival. Wordlessly, he sat in the opposite chair and sipped the steaming beverage before waiting patiently for his mother to begin.

"Mortals do not live forever, Thor, it would be foolish to fall in love with someone that does not last a fraction of your own life." She started, calmly and firmly, his voice broking no arguments from Thor until she was finished, "I do not deny that he is a unique man, one that surpasses Aesirs in most things that he does. He is a warrior and he's known more hardship than most Aesir have in a lifetime. He is a worthy warrior, even to Asgard's standards, but the problem still stands with the fact that Anthony is only a mortal."

Silence lapsed through the room as Thor was forced to listen to the ringing truth of his mother's words, as hard as they were to listen to. The bitter truth of such a tender subject feeling like a stinging slip to the face.

"But," she finally continued, "You love him. I can see it in your eyes, my son, your aura. You love him in a stupidly foolish way that I loved your father when I was younger. And yet, fate has been so cruel as to make your love so mortal and fleeting. Even long after his death, he shall hold your heart like none other could ever do." There was a beat of silence once again before she gave a kind smile and reached into a fold of her dress, before she produced something that Thor never thought he'd see, "I believe that it can be fixed."

"Mother..." Thor breathed, completely awed and shocked beyond his ability to form words. Thor honestly had no words for what he'd been presented with, as before him was the greatest gift any god could bestow on a mortal being: a golden apple of immortality. The apple shined enticingly in the lights of the room, seeming to beckon him to take it. This was a gift like no other and Thor found it hard to stop his mouth from falling agape in shock, for this would surely give him all that he wished for in his immortal life.

Shaking his head slightly to snap out of his stupor, Thor's dream seemed to collapse in on itself when he realised that one obstacle still stood in his way, "What of Father? Would he-"

Thor was cut off by a kind smile from his mother, her gentle hand lightly squeezing Thor's war-hardened fingers in a small comfort, "You underestimate your chosen, my child. He has won over nearly all of Asgard in just a few days, including that of your father. Anthony would be a wonderful addition to our Realm and I would be greatly upset if I did not see you happy with Anthony and with lovely children running about your legs." she chuckled lightly, her laughter sounding like chiming bells in the distance.

His smile becoming a bit more confused. Thor looked at his mother with a slight frown creasing his forehead, "Anthony cannot bare children for me, you must know this mother."

Slowly a knowing smile quirked his mother's lips as a joyful gleam entered her eye, "You underestimate the power of magic and the intellect of your chosen, my son." laughter lighting up her words as she looked at her eldest son adoringly, "You shall be a good King and with Anthony by your side, you shall be a great one."

"Mother," Thor started, feeling his heart sink painfully when a thought came to light, "I am sure of my own feelings. I know not of when I fell for Anthony but I know not of his true feelings towards me. I fear he will reject the apple as he will reject me..."

Looking down as sorrow and doubt clouded his thoughts, Thor was prompted to look up by the guidance of the warm hand on his cheek. When he looked into his mother's eyes, the goddess smiled in kindness, her jewelled eyes seeming to sparkle with love and understanding. "My son, have I taught you nothing in all my years as a mother? You shall gain his heart as most would do and as I have taught you. Show him your affection, your interest, and he will fall for you. He is already half in love with you, my son, the looks that he gives you tell that much." she chuckled once more at Thor's dumbfounded expression, "Court him and he shall be yours."

With that, Thor kissed his mother on the forehead, hid away the apple for safe-keeping, and left the chambers with a lighter heart than when he entered it.

Things would change and with a plan forming in his mind, Thor's joy could only increase at the certainty of his mother's words.

* * *

 

All too soon, Thor's duties had been fulfilled and it was time to head back to Midgard. They had been there for the better part of a month and Tony had no more storage in his watch to add anymore invention ideas or information about Asgard.

As they set off to the Bifrost Bridge, Thor was pleased to see that the Warriors Three and Lady Sif had decided to join them in bidding goodbye to the mortal that they had all bonded with. As they got closer to the golden dome, their walk became slower and their conversation faster, as they attempted to draw out the last journey to the Bifrost. Reluctant to say goodbye to a dear friend.

Once they got to the entrance, Heimdall nodded to the Prince before he walked into the dome, sword at the ready for them to leave after their farewells.

"You will be well missed, Anthony, Son of Stark," Hogun admitted, almost mournfully as he nodded to Tony, making the mortal smile and give him a pat on the shoulder.

"No goodbyes last forever. I'll see you on the flip-side sooner or later. Hopefully later." Tony teased lightly, making the others laugh.

"It was a blessing to meet you, Anthony, may the Norns look upon you kindly." Sif smiled as she gave a small hug to Tony.

"Always nice to meet a Pepper-counterpart. If you ever come to Midgard, look me up, I'll introduce you. Or not. You'd both rule the world in a matter of minutes if that were to happen..." he trailed off and then gave an exaggerated shiver as he gave a teasing smile to the goddess.

"Stay safe, Anthony, and look out for Thor," Voltstagg smiled as he gave Tony a pat on the shoulder, "I hope to meet you again some day, my friend."

"Me too, Big Guy."

"Safe travels, Man of Iron,I wish you valiant battles for the future." Fandral smiled charmingly, as he patted Tony as well.

"Same to you, Dashing." Tony grinned with a wink at the short haired blond, who gave a loud bark of laughter at Tony's use of his title.

As the farewells were finished, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif turned back to head back to the palace as Tony and Thor entered the golden dome, both of them silently bracing themselves to go home.

"I'll see you around, Heimdall." Tony gave a small wave.

The golden clad god gave a twitch of a smile to the mortal, gold eyes seeming to see everything as he gazed upon Tony, "Sooner than you think, Son of Stark." he nodded before he turned the sword and sent Tony and Thor back to Midgard, via magical inter-Realm portal.

As they landed on the roof of Tony's tower, the mortal was still frowning in confusion as he looked at Thor. There was a question in his eyes but he seemed to decide against asking it as he closed his eyes and breathed in the cool air, reveling in the air of New York, before he turned to Thor, "Your telling Pepper." he stated, as he turned around to walk into the Tower. He stopped halfway through the door as he turned back to look at Thor, "You coming, Point-Break?" Tony asked, as he gestured his head inside.

Wasting no time, Thor caught up with the genius within a few strides before they were walking into the tower side by side. Talking and laughing together coming to them as natural as breathing.

* * *

 

In their time back, Thor couldn't help but slightly regret the consequences to his actions of taking Tony without telling anyone...

Within minutes of their arrival, Pepper was on the duo, face red and holding a mountain worth of paperwork. Tony took absolutely no guilt in pointing the accusing finger to Thor and letting her rant and rave at him for the better part of a few hours. There was no pity shown for the god of thunder as he for the thunder god as he fumbled with endless amounts of papers, writing apologies for over a hundred angry business men, that had been waiting for a meeting with Tony. Tony in turn had merely smirked around his coffee as he watched Thor work on the endless amounts of papers in his lab, the genius loading up the data that he'd collected from Asgard and starting to work on the inventions he'd left behind over a month ago.

As their time in one another's company increased to a point where they would be within each other's reach at all times, unless they were sleeping. They had become inseparable and the team didn't seem to care one bit when they announced that they had decided to go for a relationship - to Clint, they had been in a relationship for a year or so before they announced it.

Thor's attempt at courting Tony had lasted a week at best, Thor only exchanging two presents to Tony before the genius exchanged one back with him: a miniaturised version of Tony's Arc Reactor that was hung delicately from a silver chain, with the explanation from Tony that he's giving Thor a piece of his heart. That was when they had shared their first kiss.

Not long after, word had gotten out about Thor and Tony being a new couple. Their names made each headline for months and pictures of the couple holding hands had nearly broken the internet, with Pepper Potts trying desperately to hold the front so that it didn't effect the company or Tony in any negative way. But, they didn't care what was said. Neither of them listened to the news channels, cursing Tony's name or insisting that it was a 'doomed relationship', their jealousy and hate for the overly successful genius making them resort to petty words on the television. The 'scandalous' picture of Thor and Tony holding hands, walking to the park, was framed in Tony's lab, the words 'Inappropriate Public Actions' stood boldly in the headlines.

Soon enough, Thor gained the attention of those Tony considered family in all but blood: Lady Pepper had hinted that could make it so that Thor couldn't even come to Midgard under any government jurisdiction if he were to hurt Tony in any way; the Robots, that Tony doted on like his own children, had attempted to run him over on more than one occasion; JARVIS had, several times, verbally advised against hurting Tony in any way and then proceeded to burn his pop-tarts and making every shower he attempted to have freezing cold (even to that of an Aesir) for a whole week; Colonel Rhodes had showed his true colours of brotherly protection as he threatened Thor's life if he were to hurt his Tony, War Machine suit or not, death would be a blessing after Rhodey was through with Thor.

Other than the multitude of shovel talks that he had to endure, Thor was ecstatic to find that they had all found him worthy of possessing Tony's heart as his family had found Tony worthy of holding his.

It wouldn't be until a few years later of happiness and love did Thor ask Tony for his hand in marriage and an eternity in one another's arms. Forever and always. He would be so happy when Tony said yes, he would create a static charge for a five mile radius, making Tony's hair and a million other people's hair stand on end as a reaction. Nevertheless, both had laughed in delight before they shared a kiss, Thor slipping the silver band with a white ruins etched into the metal - ruins of love and well-fair. They only laughed more when Thor jumped back at the static shock that came from touching Tony's spiked hair.

When they had their wedding, everyone they cared about was there, crying as they watched the two truly in love people promise to be together for an eternity. Tony eating the sweet golden apple when all was finished.

They would be the greatest rulers of Asgard the Nine Realms had ever seen; Thor being a fair King while Tony was a caring hand for the people, thinking about the smaller problems and making sure that the common people were never forgotten and well looked after.

They would live out many years together before Tony was able to create a spell so that a male partner could become temporarily female to bare a child before reverting back to their natural state. Both would be over joyed to gain three beautiful children that presented a mixture of both Thor and Tony in each child.

But, at the moment, Thor could only revel in the thought of Tony one day being a ruler beside him, a husband for him, and his North Star of hard times. Thor saw no reason to rush to the future when he had all that could make him happy at this possible moment: Tony asleep in his arms, Thor's fingers carding gently through soft brown locks, as the credits for a movie they had been watching rolled up the screen, music humming in the background.

Their differences were as clear as day and yet they fit together so completely, things couldn't be more perfect...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And.... Finished!!  
> Thanks for staying with this all this time!


End file.
